With the recent release of Disturbed’s eighth studio album, Divisive, the band set out on the “Take Back Your Life” tour with support from Breaking Benjamin and Jinjer! The tour came to Five Point Amplitheather in Irvine, CA on July 20th.
Jinjer is a progressive groove metal unit based out of Ukraine! I was walking through the gates right when Jinjer was starting and I overheard a couple of guys in conversation talking about the band. The one guy said, “I’ve never heard of them before but I heard they have a female lead singer,” then Tatianna started screaming and the guy goes “...or maybe not.” It was so funny to me because the first time I listened to Jinjer I had a hard time believing it was a girl screaming! Tatianna just has such amazing range in her voice to be able to go from angelic singing to those nasty screams!
Breaking Benjamin was up next and they opened their set with “Failure” and “Breath.” They played songs that spanned across their 20-year career including the first song they ever released, “Polyamorous.” The band’s set also included a little surprise, literally, as lead singer Benjamin Burnley’s son “played” along with the band on his unplugged electric guitar! Little man was definitely born for the stage! They ended their set with “The Diary of Jane”
A white curtain covered the stage during the break as they prepared for Disturbed’s set. The intro to Divisive album opener “Hey You” began and all that you could see were the silhouettes of the band as spotlights flashed back and forth between them all posing. The song kicked in, the current dropped, and the band was revealed. For “Ten Thousand Fists,” the entire stage lit up from fire everywhere! Disturbed has one of the most unique Pyros setups I have ever seen. Their fire was connected to their lights and those riggs were moved to create a new shape and feel for each song. Some songs had more of an ambient fire feeling and others had full-force fire that gave off a very powerful feeling! Speaking of powerful, there’s something about literally seeing ten thousand fists in the air while they play Ten Thousand Fist.
Before they went into “A Reason To Fight,” a video was played talking about the effects depression and addictions can have on a person’s life and their loved ones. They even took a moment of silence to remember those we have lost to those demons. After playing “A Reason To Fight”, frontman David Drainman broke down in tears. This show happened to take place on Chris Cornell’s birthday and the anniversary of the day Chester Bennington took his life. David Drainman gave a speech about mental health and talked about how he missed his friends. He even spoke about how he himself nearly lost his battle in February of this year. Draimen said there were two reasons he was still here “Number one... my son – and number two… Every single one of you” as he pointed out to the audience. He asked the audience to raise their hands if they have ever battled with these demons known as depression and addiction. Pretty much every hand in the amphitheater was raised. David said, “Look around, You are not alone.” That sense of compassion and unity is what sets Disturbed’s live show apart from the rest.
Back in May, Sirius XM’s Octane and Turbo Radio Host Caity Babs posted on her Twitter, “Do u think if I tried hard enough I could get Disturbed to play Droppin’ Plates Live? How many retweets and likes is it gunna take?” David Drainman then replied back “Lol, We’ve done it before (many times) We’ll do it again.” Disturbed surprised us all when they added Droppin’ Plates to their setlist for the night! They have not played this song in years, so Irvine got a special treat thanks to Caity! Disturbed closed out their set with “Inside the Fire” which is always my favorite song to hear live because they literally bring you “Inside the Fire!”
The Take Back Your Life tour is full of unity, acceptance, passion, and raw emotion proving once again just how powerful metal music and its community is. There are still plenty of dates left on this tour so be sure you don’t miss it!
Remaining dates on the Take Back Your Life Tour:
Jul 29 - Rogers, AR - Walmart AMP
Jul 31 - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion
Aug 01 - Alpharetta, GA - Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Aug 03 - West Palm Beach, FL - iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Aug 05 - Tampa, FL - MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Aug 07 - Raleigh, NC - Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Aug 09 - Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live
Aug 11 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
Aug 12 - Syracuse, NY - St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
Aug 15 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
Aug 18 - Mansfield, MA - Xfinity Center
Aug 19 - Wantagh, NY - Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
Aug 21 - Camden, NJ - Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Aug 23 - Gilford, NH - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
Aug 26 - Burgettstown, PA - The Pavilion at Star Lake
Aug 27 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center
Aug 29 - Maryland Heights, MO - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Aug 30 - Tinley Park, IL - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Sep 01 - Clarkston, MI - Pine Knob Music Theatre
Sep 02 - Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Music Center
Photos: Heather Vandemark
Article: Kaiya Vandemark
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